federal

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has just published its 2013 Long-Term Budget Outlook, and this year’s set of predictions for the nation’s balance sheet is sure to push Washington’s heartburn rate up a few notches. Three quick takeaways from the CBO’s report: The percentage of federal debt held by the public is higher than at any point in modern U.S. history. Federal debt held by the public is likely to decline a little bit over the next few years, as …

Uncle Sam may have oodles of agencies, but the “Federal Government Grants Department” isn’t among them. Nor does the “Federal Grant Association” exist, despite claims it is awarding free government money to lucky recipients who are randomly telephoned. So beware of callers using these and other official-sounding names to promise thousands in cash for reasons such as paying your taxes on time, being debt-free, needing debt relief, or just being a good citizen or money-spending consumer. The government grant scam …